


In The Air

by weapon13WhiteFang



Category: The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-04-27 01:30:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5028454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weapon13WhiteFang/pseuds/weapon13WhiteFang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The time of the full moon is a vulnerable time for all unmated. Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon are no exception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! Kinda lol
> 
> I figured I could try starting 2016 out with a new chapter of my main project focus! 
> 
> Things are gonna start feeling kinda weird for a bit. But when you read, you'll see why!

**It's my birthday so I figured i'd write something to do with werewolves and Brickyl... Cause why the fuck not, right? Right! Lol... On a serious note, though, I've never written Rick or Brick, so this is a whole new territory for me... So please, don't kill me if I get something wrong with werewolves or what have you... I kinda figured that, since everyone else was writing them how they wished, I could do it as well... Kay? Kay.**

 

…

 

Mating.

The word brings a sour taste to Daryl’s mouth, making his skin or fur stand up and his nose wrinkle like he’s smelled something foul.

It’s an unpleasant thought. The idea of loosing your mind to your senses and the primal call to breed another being just for re-population and self satisfaction… It’s fucking uncomfortable sounding.

Yet it’s what they’re warned about every year around the time of the full moon by whoever is pack leader. And Rick - having taken down the former leader, Joe - is no different. He warns them all to be wary but not to fear. Mating isn’t something to fear, he tells them. And Daryl almost snorts. Almost.

“The town know to keep their pets locked up?” Shane asks, arms crossed as he glares at them. Shane never was a fan of following orders. But he hadn’t ever caused trouble. The upcoming moon was making him tense like the rest of the unclaimed.

“I made rounds. Made sure they knew. We’re not a secret. They listened…” Glenn spoke up, shifting back and forth and running his fingers absently through his hair.

“That’s good. Tomorrow will be tough. The three days can be straining, I know. But we gotta look out for each other. Stick together. We can make it. For those already mated, offer what help you can. We’ll be fine.” Rick assures, meeting the haze of his small but still impressive pack of over twenty.

Daryl sees heads nod and a few murmur agreements before Rick let’s them go. A few shift and run off into the woods to start ahead and get away from others. Some look hesitant and unsure were to go. Those that have mates - Abraham and Rosita, Bob and Sasha, Carol and his brother Merle, and a few others - gather up the pups and usher them for their homes.

"You doing alright?” Rick asks once everyone seems to have decided where they want to go on their small compound.

Daryl nods, biting the side of his thumb. He’s never had much trouble with the mating moon. It’s made him prickly at times, but he’s been good at fighting it off. He’s got other shit to occupy him anyway. Like guarding the compound or helping the pups get trained.

Rick nods as well before taking a deep breath and sighing, scratching the back of his neck. This time of year is tough on the alpha, due to keeping fights from breaking out and helping calm the younger pups like Carl or Sophia or the Samuels sisters and their hormones.

“Gonna sleep outside tonight. Don’t need to be hearing mah brother.” Daryl speaks up after a bit, earning a laugh from Rick as he pats him on the shoulder as they finally walk, making for Ricks place.

“You can stay with us. Judith would like that. Carl too.” Rick offers, eyes meeting his before Daryl ducks his head and bites harder on the side of his thumb.

He thinks about just turning but the idea of getting to sleep in warmth sounds too appealing after his four day hunt had him curled on the ground in wolf and man state.

So he nods and Rick smiles and leads him into his house, where he’s instantly treated by a tiny reddish brown pup charging his leg and trying to paw her way up his leg to be held, which he complies with as Judith shifts in his hold and babble talks his head off until it’s time to sleep.

…

Around this time, it’s normal for fights to break out. Unclaimed males fighting other unclaimed males for a female mate or vise verse with the females for the males.

Most of the fights can be broken up before things get bad, but there are the few that get out of hand and they have to call in for help from a local to supply extra gauze or pain pills when Bob runs low.

That’s where the Greene Farm comes into play.

For a hundred years the pack and the Greene family have had peace. It was the first Greene’s - Lawrence and Pearl Greene from Ireland and Germany - who traded fur and meat and a little gold to the pack for ten acres of land to house their family. The Greene’s had over five hundred acres at the time and had kindly traded got less than worth and the pack and Greene had been friends ever since.

Now the current Greene heads - Hershel and Annette - maintained that bond. Hershel had been kind. He offered his knowledge as a vet to help clean wounds and delivery pups when Bob wasn’t enough.

But Hershel had three things he was strict on; his family, killing his animals, and invading without permission. Three simple yet important things he cherished were made know straight away to every new pack leader, Rick included.

No one had ever met Hershel’s children. They all only knew he had two daughters and a son. Daryl had never even seen them. He could recall back when Annette was pregnant- during Joe’s reign - with her youngest, but that was as close to seeing one as he’s been. And that was just over twenty years ago.

Daryl figured that Hershel kept his kids back to keep them safe. Sure no one would harm anyone with The Greene’s scent. But that didn’t mean accidents happened. Hell Hershel almost got his leg ripped off by a young mutt who’d been in a frantic state while his mate/wife was hurt during labor. He could understand the need to protect your kin.

Which is why he’s surprised when Rick tells him that Hershel is going to be brining his youngest daughter to help drop off the extra supplies he’s bringing.

“Why?” Daryl finds himself asking aloud, frowning as Rick sighs again.

“Hershel says she’s the one who’ll most likely take over the farm one day. Says she’s the one who stayed and wants to learn the upkeep for when she’s not working as a teacher.” Rick explains, though this does nothing to wash away his frown or the tensing of his body as they both wait for Hershel to pull up in his old blue Ford.

It’s the first day of the full moon and already there have been six fights that Abraham and Rick and Daryl himself have had to break up. It’s younger pups getting twitchy. Nothing hard. But they’re definitely going to need those extra supplies.

Daryl straightens when he hears a howl in the distance from Glenn on border patrol, alerting everyone that a friend is approaching. And Daryl’s ears perk up at the familiar growl of Hershel’s old ford.

“We’ll get our supplies and send them on their way like always.” Rick tells him and Michonne, who has her son Andre on her hip and a mask of indifference on her face.

Once the truck is close enough, it comes to a stop and a few of the pups rush for Hershel’s feet, sniffing and greeting the new smell and face of Hershel Greene. Andre wiggles free of his mothers grasp to shift and join Judith and the other pups sniffing about.

Nothing smells out of the ordinary… Until it does. Daryl knows Rick smelled it the same moment he did. His body went taunt and his jaw worked open, a look of awe and horror washing across the man’s face. Daryl was pretty sure his expression would be the same if he wasn’t using every ounce of self control to keep from snapping his neck to look over by the pups behind Hershel, who run to greet a new figure of blonde hair and long legs.

He sucks in air and shudders as the new figure crouches to smile at Judith and little Andre, her smell making him dizzy and energized all at once.

She smelled like fucking woman and everything that he could crave for wrapped into one pretty package… And was oh so obviously and painfully unaware of it. Unaware of two grown men - two grown male wolves - were being almost dragged to their knees with sudden want and need.

“Hershel.” Rick manages to croak, barely tearing his eyes away from the blonde leggy figure to the smiling old man that looked like farmer Santa Clause… And was the girls father.

Daryl isn’t sure what is said after that. There’s a ringing in his ear, the pulsing of his blood too loud to hear anything as he tracks her moves, follows the way her body moves and let’s herself crouch near the ground and smile at the pups and pet and play with them while their parents watch with curiosity and slow growing ease.

“Beth!” Hershel calls out, making him snap to reality as the young leggy woman stands and says farewell to the pups before she’s getting closer to them.

Rick takes in a sharp breath and Daryl is vaguely aware he should be feeling territorial over the blonde - Beth? - he’s just met and who he very much wants to touch and more.

But he instead finds himself stiffening up and almost groaning as her scent is so much stronger up close and he’s trying not to look like a fucking creep as he almost shudders at the touch of her hands - her soft skin - on his own as she greets them both with an angelic smile.

Fucking hell.

**…**

It isn’t until she’s gone - and watching her leave in the Ford feels about the equivalent of getting his heart ripped out - that he can think with a little more clarity. That he can realize that - to his horror - he’s reacted for the first time to a woman’s scent and it’s still evident and straining against the zipper of his jeans. And that he realizes Rick smells as aroused and needy as him… And it doesn’t bother him.

Neither of them say a thing once the truck is gone. Daryl unclenched his knuckles and blinks slowly, feeling like he’s coming down from being drunk or high. It’s a foreign feeling and yet it’s not. He’s not sure.

“You two done? I can smell you from here.” Michonne’s voice is like a perfect slice through the haze and Daryl’s jaw tightens and his eyes narrow.

“There trouble?” Rick speaks up, startling Daryl by how calm he sounds under the tension coming off him in waves.

“Carl and Ron had a few hits in before Merle got to them.” Andrea speaks up, hefting her son Ben to her hip while Billy is held by her husband Milton.

Rick nods and twitches his hand, running it through his hair and nodding again, cracks showing through his supposed calm it’s comforting to see he’s not the only one still struggling with whatever the fuck this is.

“I’ll go talk to him. Keep them separated for now...” Rick mutters, distracted as he shifts forms anc makes towards the woods, leaving an air of the world feeling off.

**…**

It’s dusk when when Rick returns to the compound, having disappeared into the woods and leaving Daryl and Michonne to pick up the slack.

Daryl is stretched out on the porch, his deep dark brown, almost black fur rustling in the warm breeze. His claws dig into the wood of the porch as he stands and watches his old friend step through the blackening green of the forest that surrounds them.

Daryl shifts forms, quickly dragging on jeans and a sleeveless plaid shirt before tossing Rick his own clothes once he’s turned. During the moon the change is easier, more fluid.

Daryl drags out a cigarette and his lighter, needing something for the edge building up in him again. Something he’s not used to and is going to need more cigarettes for if this is how it’s gonna be.

“Lori… She and I, back when we met… That’s the last time I felt anything like that…” Rick speaks up, looking down the hill his home sits on, reigning over the valley of their home.

Lori was a strange subject. Rick didn’t often bring her up, the pain of her death after five years still as fresh as it was the day it happened. Daryl had not known Lori well enough to warrant any feelings on the matter, but he respected that she fought tooth and claw to make sure he daughter Judith was born before she succumbed to the silver bullet of a hunter. One that he and Merle had ripped apart a second to late after.

“It won’t go away. It’ll get stronger with each moon.” Rick sighs after a beat, hanging his head and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Daryl felt his stomach churn at the idea of facing this sensation every moon. It didn’t sound good at all. In fact it made him want to start scratching himself like he’d gotten fleas like when he and Merle were just young pups themselves.

“Got plenty suppressors.” Daryl tried gruffly, making Rick shake his head again.

“Against this… Not much help.” Rick sighs once again, foot twitching in Daryl’s peripheral vision and doing nothing to squash the feral like edge growing in him.

“She’s human…” Daryl murmurs, though he knows that’s a weak attempt to push the aching hunger that comes with the thought of the blonde, who he’d just met and was probably just out of her teens.

Humans and Wolves have mated in the past and it’s now become a more common occurence, though Daryl isn’t sure why. He’s got nothing against it, sure. But a human couldn’t ever truly understand what it was like to have The Call of the moon or to know the earth. It just seemed strange to him… Although now, not so much.

“We’ll be a'right.” Daryl finally says aloud. Though to what, he’s not sure. Whether he’s reassuring himself or Rick or both… He doesn’t know.

Rick gives a tight smile and the subject is dropped. For now.

...

**R & R Plz**


	2. Chapter 2

The mating moon came and went. New bonds has been made and Rick knew there would soon be new pups running around... If the smell in the air after the last night of the moon was any indication.

"Fucking Merle acting like he's some young mutt again." Daryl grumbled, watching his brother growl when anyone got to close to Carol, who Merle swears was gonna be pregnant after the three nights they had... Daryl didn't want to know.

Rick simply smiled at his best friend and crossed his arms, watching over the land and the families. With the moon finally out of his blood for the next month, he could find his focus... Even if the familiar itch to mate was far from gone.

"Sophia will like having a sibling. She's always running off with Judith." Rick mused, looking over at Carl pouting as Sophia cooed and fussed over Judith like she was her own. Judith ate it up and babbles happily at the attention.

"Do her good. She's a good pup." Daryl murmured, neither needing to be reminded of Ed Peletier and their help in ripping him to shreds when word of his abuse towards Carol and attempted sexual advances towards Sophia. Merle had done most of the mauling anyway.

Rick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The call to run was still strong but he had work to do and a compound to run. His pack needed him to keep a level head-

A howl ripped through the air. It was the signal of someone approaching; someone human.

Rick shifted instantly and made a run for the gate, not needing to look back to know that Daryl had shifted and was following. Michonne met them halfway and they advanced towards the gate, all on guard as he motioned to open it.

What he wasn't expecting was Hershel's truck. Or for the familiar scent to waft his way and make his fur stand on end, Daryl letting out a strangled sound beside him.

She stepped out, long legs pale and smooth and dressed in impossibly short shorts, worn out cowgirl boots, a large display of bracelets on her right arm, and a dark green tank top. Her gold silk hair was up in a ponytail and adjourned with little braids here and there, big blue eyes staring at them in wonder.

Beth Greene had come again.

...

Beth had never seen a werewolf up close. Least not in their full form. She's helped her daddy stitch up rogues and even some of the compound pack. But never in their wolf form.

They were beautiful.

"I'm sorry if I'm too early, Mr. Grimes... Daddy said you were okay with me coming in today..." Beth faded off, nibbling on her lower lip and hoping that the large brown wolf with sharp blue eyes was indeed Mr. Grimes.

The pitch black wolf was the first to step forward and shift. She stood before Beth, naked and lean and intimidating. Probably more so than her wolf form.

Beth was unphased by the nudity. She'd patched many werewolves in their naked human form and had learned that, to them, a body was nothing to hide. And Beth found that respectful and thrilling to think about.

"Hershel didn't warn us." The woman said evenly as someone handed her a blanket to wrap around herself.

"Mr. Grimes and daddy... He said it was okay yesterday." Beth tried, biting her lip harder and hoping she wasn't offending anyone.

Finally the large brown wolf shifted and Beth had to fight down a blush or the urge to let her eyes wander... Mr. Grimes wasn't bad on the eyes.

He looked uncomfortable, though not because of his nudity she was sure. His large hands twitched and he kept looking up and down and everywhere but her as he was handed a pair of jeans and quickly dragged them on.

"I can come some other time..." Beth tried softly, feeling like she had indeed offended him if he wasn't able to look at her.

The darker wolf - his fur brown but dark enough to look black in certain lights - gave a strange grunting whine and pawed at the ground, meeting his pack leaders wandering gaze.

Their was some kind of conversation then. Beth had never heard someone use their wolf tongue in their human form. It sounded similar and yet was almost like listening to some ancient caveman language of growls, clicking teeth, and grunts.

"I told Hershel id let you look around today. I'll keep that agreement." Mr. Grimes finally answered, sounding strained and reluctant.

"I'll show her around. You and Dixon... You'd best work this out." Michonne spoke calmly, but her sharp eyes narrowed on them before she was motioning Beth to leave her truck and follow.

Hesitating for a second, Beth nodded and followed after the stoic woman, glancing back briefly to catch the darker wolf and Mr. Grimes watching her before they looked away.

Beth bit her lip and sighed, feeling a flush to her cheek and a headache brewing.

...

"She can't be here." Daryl rasped once they were back at Rick's cabin, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

"She won't be here long. She's getting to know the place, making everyone comfortable with her scent... I made the agreement with Hershel." Rick sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

Of course he'd made the agreement while in a state of lust and stupor over his old friends youngest daughters scent, so really it wasn't the best of choice.

"Don't need her here... Can't..." Daryl was struggling with his words and Rick felt a stab of pity.

Daryl had never had the call of the mating moon. His friend had once - in little to no words - confirmed to him that he believed that call wasn't meant for him... And now here it was. And being shared none the less.

Last night, he'd done research. Trying to understand just why he and Daryl were sharing a scent. It wasn't something he'd ever heard of before. And the fact they weren't trying to rip each other apart over the scent was amazing all on its own, considering what usually happens when two wolves want the same mate.

"Can't keep fighting it, brother." Rick murmured, causing Daryl to twitch and snap his narrowed gaze at him.

The two met each other's gaze in silence. No words were needed for Rick to know that Daryl wasn't gonna roll over in submission right away. Least he wouldn't do it on Rick's beckoning.

He'd have to let go on his own... So Rick would try to hold on to. If he went after Beth - and God the urge to track her down and ravish her was like lava pooling in his gut - Daryl would follow with the need to mark his territory to strong to ignore. Rick could never force that on the one he called brother.

So he'd hold out as best he could... For now.

...

Werewolf children were the most affectionate children Beth had ever had the pleasure of getting to play with.

She'd never admit so out loud, but they reminded her of puppy's; playful and loving and unbiased. If you were willing to show affection and play with them and give scratches behind the ear and pats on the head, they were all over you.

She'd picked up names pretty quickly. Carl was the oldest next to Sophia. They were both a little more reserved from her at first, but watching her with the children had seemed to help. Carl was Rick's son and Sophia was the daughter of a woman named Carol and adopted daughter of a large grating brown woks called Merle.

Billy and Ben were twins and the children of a pair named Andrea and Milton Mamet. They were happy and playful children and loved climbing in her lap.

Another set of twins was their adopted older sisters, Lizzie and Mika, who adored playing with Beth's hair in their human forms.

Judith and Andre were the youngest. They were around two and three and loved to snuggle and lick at her. Judith was also Ricks and Andre belonged to her current guide, Michonne.

Michonne was a quiet woman with a stern face... Until she was watching Beth with Andre. Any negativity seemed to seep from her once Andre took a shine to trying to snuggle against Beth's stomach.

"He's so sweet." Beth cooed, handing Andre off to Michonne once the other children had run off, leaving Beth with Judith and Andre.

Andre yawned and snuggled and shifted back and forth in his mothers arms while Judith slept curled in Beth's, features a perfect blend of wolf and human as she slept.

"You do well with them." Michonne replied, nodding to Judith and her son as Beth let herself get taken around more.

The compound was beautiful and peaceful. She adored it. It was so earthly and yet still had enough modern touches to make it "up to date" with the world. And to see so many happy werewolf pups and parents was beautiful.

Outside the compound, werewolf kids struggled. She was in school with a few - around fifteen or so - and they tended to pack together and stay back from everyone once they hit middle school.

She'd even dated a werewolf boy named Zack. But that hasn't lasted long once Zack found himself being drawn away by a scent he kept insisting was calling him.

So Beth had let him go. Many had told her it was for the best. That she'd just regret letting some beast eventually mate her... But she'd missed Zack for a long time. She'd almost loved him. It was hard to see him go.

"All children are the same. They just need someone who listens and loves them." Beth finally replied back as they made for a large hill.

Michonne paused and stared intently at her then and Beth stopped as well to look at her, smiling and meaning what she said as she gently adjusted Judith in her arms.

Michonne had intense eyes that Beth almost recoiled at, but found she didn't want to and couldn't wipe the honest smile from her face even at the scrutinizing gaze.

"Would you mate a wolf?"

The question caught Beth off guard and she tilted her head as Michonne's face remained impassive, holding Andre close.

"Wolf or Human... That shouldn't matter. If you respect and care and are there for each other... That should be enough, right?" Beth replied, trying to sound curious as to what Michonne was getting at.

The woman instead gave a soft smile that made the edges of her face seem less sharp and gave a simple head nod before making up the hill, leaving Beth to frown a little before she followed after her.

...

**R & R Plz**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments everyone! So sweet!

Itchy. He feels itchy, raw. Like he needs to scratch at his skin, his fur, and dig inside himself and air everything out so it can breath and make this itch stop!

Daryl paces the guest bedroom of Rick’s home. He’s going crazy, being trapped inside. But there’s no choice in the matter. Because if he steps outside, her scent will kill him… 

Daryl ran his fingers through his hair and tugged. He’d smoked all his cigarettes and his only other packs were at home. At least with the smoke it helped to mask the scent. Now it’s trying to weave through the cracks of the house and deep into his skin, into his senses. 

His claws popped free and he gripped the wood of the desk chair, taking deep breaths, claws digging into the wood and leaving marks… He’d have to make Rick a new chair later if he kept digging at the old thing. He’d already clawed the arms up to shit.

A deep growl escaped against his will, before he wretched his hands free and stormed to the guest bathroom, shoving the door shut and locking it. 

Frantically, he stormed to the sink and turned on the water, quickly splashing it in his face and shaking it from his hair like some wet mutt, avoiding the urge to gaze at his reflection in the mirror, knowing damn well he’d look like a wild beast on the verge if insanity. 

The cold water cleared his senses long enough to tell him he’d ruined another shirt - this one in tatters on his body - and that he was sporting a very persistent and now very painful erection…

“Fuck…” Daryl breathed, claws digging into the sink. 

He fucking hated this! Was this how Merle had been over Carol’s scent? He’d never asked his brother about his call to mate Carol, but now he wished he’d at least asked if it was supposed to feel like this…

“Fuck!” Daryl gruffly hissed, mashing his teeth and slamming his palms on the sink counter. 

Pushing himself away, Daryl left the water running before going to the bathtub and turning on the water then the shower head, trying to drown out his thoughts and mug up the air so his nose would maybe get snuffy so he could stop getting small whiffs of it. 

He stepped back away from the running shower and sink until he was pressed against the wall by the door, huffing out air and running his hands down his face. 

The erection he was facing was now painfully persistent enough to snap him to and make him groan. He glared down, trying to think of anything revolting he could conjure - Merle in a damn bikini, his old mans aftershave, the sight of his mothers burnt body - to will it away…

But it was hopeless if even imagining Merle in a bikini wasn’t doing jack shit! Because that’s about as fucked up as there was…

“Shit…”

Daryl - knowing be needed to do something before he exploded- grit his teeth and snapped open his jeans, making sure his door was indeed locked as he shoved down his pants and boxers to the floor, tossing the useless shirt in a waste basket, and leaving himself naked and his back pressed against the cool bathroom wall, hating how fucking weak he was being…

Feeling less constrained, Daryl sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes - having not realized he’d closed them - to lidded slits to glare at the object of his misfortune. 

Feeling a hint of bitterness and a strong shudder of need, Daryl reached down and grasped himself in his left hand, shuddering at the slight friction from his calloused hands around his dick. 

It had been years since he’s resorted to masturbating. He’d always had the thrill and arousal of the hunt and runs to tide him over. The thrill of sinking his teeth into his prey, of his feet pounding the earth as he raced with mother moon. 

He hadn’t had the luxury of just running when he’d been a pup. His old man had made sure him and Merle were fast and had taught them early on how to take out a meal without getting kicked in the face and not ruining the good neat to take home. Running and enjoying the call of Mother Earth and mother moon hadn’t been something he’d gotten until he’d joined the compound when Joe had been in charge with his bitch, Mary. 

Now? Now he’d give anything to not feel a shudder of dread at the thought of the next full mating moon.

Daryl’s eyes fluttered as he worked his hand, squeezing and tugging, applying pressure at the tip and ghosting down an inch before giving himself another squeeze. Repeating this motion from top to base and up again, using his other hand to cup and squeeze his sack a little rougher, shuddering at the contrast in frictions. 

His head lulled back, eyes almost closed as he stared at the running water of the sink, hips jerking slightly with an instinctive need to thrust for the pleasure. 

_“Does it feel good?”_

His breathing became heavy and he banged his head against the wall and fighting to stay standing as he whimpered - fucking whimpered like a needy pup - as his hazed mind thought of _her_ voice. As he imagined her southern bell voice would sound as she watched him, encouraged him…

_“Are you going to cum? You can cum… I wanna see.”_

The voice sounded like it was being whispered in his ear and Daryl lost it, a powerful orgasm ripping through him without to much warning and causing him to gasp and sink to the floor, his seed coating his hands and splattering on the floor as he lost his footing. 

He gasped like a man who needed oxygen as the waves of pleasure washed over him, the aftershocks of his orgasm leaving his body almost blissfully numb.

He shuddered as a cohere thought crossed his mind, stabbing his brain and making him feel like a weak, horny pup.

Beth Greene was gonna kill him. She was gonna be his death… Fucking Hell!

…

Beth smiles as she watched Judith - awake and fully wolf - sniff around the ward before barking like an excited puppy and bringing Beth one of her toys or favorite bones to see. For being so young, she was a very bold and open little thing. 

She’d almost be inclined to really enjoy this moment… If she didn’t know that she seemed to have really angered Mr. Grimes…

Beth’s smile fell a little. She’d been so excited to be allowed to come and explore the compound on her own when Mr. Grimes had agreed to daddy’s request and suggestion that she’d barely been able to get to sleep last night…

Sure Mr. Grimes hasn’t said he was mad. In fact he’d been the one to stick with his promise… But he wasn’t looking at her. And he kept working his jaw and glaring anytime she got close.

Beth liked to pride herself in being somewhat able to read people fairly well… And right now she was getting the body language vibe that Mr. Grimes was angry at her but wasn’t saying anything. To spare her feelings, most likely…

Beth sighed and tried not to pout as she let Judith crawl into her lap as Michonne came to join them with Andre weaving between her legs until she was sitting across from her on the grass. 

“I’m sorry I made Mr. Grimes mad… Next time I’ll try to call ahead…” Beth blurted once Michonne was seated.

The older woman raised a brow and actually looked amused by her outburst as Beth felt her cheeks go red over her exclamation and how her mouth and thoughts had gotten away from her for a second.

Her face became redder as Michonne’s amusement fell and she began to study her with a piercing, studying gaze that sent shivers down her spine and her cheeks go as red as the tomatoes in the garden back home.

Beth did her best it to squirm under Michonne’s penetrating gaze, plucking at the grass nervously with her fingers and doing her best to keep eye contact like her daddy had taught.

“What do you know about The Mating Moon?” Michonne spoke up, causing Beth to straighten and her mouth to form an “o” in surprise at the sudden break of the silence that had been building up around the grunts and noises of Andre and Judith playing. 

She’d heard that term before. Mating Moon… She’d read that term in one of her daddy’s old books that had been written by the first Greene woman to plant roots on this land; Pearl Greene. 

“I know I’ve heard about it… But I only remember that it’s a term for the full moon of every month and that it’s supposed to be a vulnerable time.” Beth finally replied, biting her lip as she tried to recall exactly what the book had said.

Michonne gave a dry smile that told Beth that there was indeed more to know about the Mating Moon than that… Now she wished she’d gleamed her fathers books before she came here. 

“It’s a vulnerable time for all of us. But more so for those unmated.” Michonne said softly, running her fingers through Andre’s fur as he jumped into his mothers lap and Judith into Beth’s. 

Unmated. That term she did know. Those who never found a mate or were once mates but lost their mate for one reason or another. That term was also one she knew she’d seen in dealing with the Mating Moon… 

“I’m sorry… I know, I just-” Michonne cut her off with a firm but gentle interruption. 

“You don’t, though. No human ever really does. But I know you’re trying to understand. That’s enough for now.”

Beth snapped her mouth shut and tried not to pout, instead deciding to bite her lip and let Judith paw at her hand and face. 

No more was said on the matter, and before long - after one last look around - Beth was standing at her old Ford. Judith and Andre were hugging her and babbling happily to her and she smiled and listened to them but in the back of her mind she was racing with a million questions that wanted to burst out.

Instead she said goodbye to Michonne and the kids before promising to call - after getting a number from Michonne to call - the next time she was going to visit. 

Then she was backing up to turn around. As she shifted the old stick shift into forward, she glanced up at the top of the hill where the Grimes household sat.

A shudder ran through her as, right then, she caught Mr. Grimes standing on his porch and watching her, hands gripping the railing of the wrap around banister. 

He was looking at her like he wanted to chase her Ford down and devour her…

Beth looked away and shifted the fears to move forward, leaving the compound gate and taking a deep breath to steady her suddenly flustered nerves. 

She was definitely going to do some research as soon as she got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So forgive me if this kick into sexual territory is terrible lol! Honestly, Daryl has always seemed like such a sexually reserved person that putting him in a state of sexual release seems off to me. But that's my opinion. Hopefully it's not jarring or random and you all feel what I'm trying lol


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little backstory and a little Rick and a little explanation here and there.

A werewolf’s hearing and sense of smell is sharp. Much sharper and more in-tuned than a typical dogs or normal wolf because they have their human senses to back them up when it decides to speak up.

In a community like the compound, everyone is aware of everyone’s business. If you’ve recently slept with your mate, everyone smells it… So yes there’s no secrets really. 

But communal living has taught most - unless you’re Merle, because Merle’s an ass - to filter out familiar noises and adjust to familiar scents. And most have come to not pry. Sure there are nosy people and gossip, but it gets put down. 

Rick knows there’s gonna be a helluva lot of gossip once it hits everyone what he’s currently smelling; <i>who</i> that smell is coming from.

Daryl Dixon is covered in the smell of arousal and of his release. And though he’s locked himself away in the guest bathroom and bedroom, the smell penetrates Ricks sense of smell and he shudders at the fact the smell seems to turn him on as well. 

And with Beth’s scent still lingering in the air around him - her scent is on Judy, around his lawn, around the compound - it rocks him to the core in a way he hasn’t felt since he was a teenager and chasing after Lori…

Wolfs mate for life. Lori’s death nearly killed him… But he’s been surviving, coping even. He’s been getting on his feet again…

And now he’s stumbling to control himself and the urge to chase after an old Ford pickup and drag some poor young woman to the ground and claim her is so strong… Mother Moon was rather cruel this time.

Roughly running his fingers through his hair, Rick stepped back and fell into the old rocking chair on his front porch. He’d give Daryl a little more space before going in to check on him. Give him a semblance of privacy for his own sake. 

He scrubs at his face and tries to will her scent away as a breeze catches it and wafts it to him. It’s torturous with every little puff. It makes his skin, his fur, feel raw and itchy… Like he’s a snake trying to shed its skin. 

He’s had practice with this from Lori. It’s the only thing he has to his advantage right now, aside from the fact that his actions could hurt the pack and would push Daryl. 

A part of him - a selfish part that’s hissing vile in his ear - tells him to ignore this strange mate bond Daryl has with Beth. It’s his bond too and he should be able to act on it now, the voice encourages darkly. 

But that’s not who he is. And Daryl is his friend, his brother. His pack. And you don’t hurt your family. You don’t hurt the pack. You protect it… And that’s what he’d do. 

Even if it would kill him… Which this would if she came around anytime soon. He needed to get his bearings back so he could talk to Daryl and get him calm. 

That and he couldn’t fuck the farmers daughter without also trying to explain everything to her. Which was a nightmare and made him wonder why the Hell he couldn’t be faced with a female wolf instead…

With a sigh, Rick sunk into the rocking chair and closed his eyes. He was getting to old for this kind of hormonal craze… Maybe he should go for a run 

…

About a hundred years ago, the first Greene’s settled in Georgia. Lawrence and Pearl Greene had come over from Ireland in the early 1900s to settle down and find peace from rising heat back in their homelands. 

Lawrence Greene had bought the land cheap - over 800 acres from locals looking to sell since the nearby town, her hometown now, was on the verge of dying out with most gone for bigger cities and new land - and had set to work on building the Greene home from scratch.

As he’d worked to build a house that he could deem worthy for his wife and their future children, Pearl Greene wrote about their lives in her journals. Everyday she wrote about her thoughts and what was happening, a habit she’d had since she’d learned to read and write. 

It’s on the third journal - after two years of living in America - that Pearl talks about their meeting with a pack of wolf-men. And it’s in that book that she declares to study and learn as much as she can about these wolf-men. 

Pearl Greene had gone on to write two whole journals of research - in two very large cowhide journals that were thick from every piece of paper she added to it - and had wrote down for them to please be cherished and cared for. 

Over a hundred years later, her future grandchildren and ancestors had kept her wish true. And now the book - along with all her journals - were sitting on Beth’s bed. 

She’d ran straight to her fathers library and had plucked each one down. They’d been hard to tote up to her room, but she’d done so quickly before rushing downstairs to help her mother finish with dinner. 

Dinner had been her family inquiring about how it had been in the compound. Shawn was over and had taken the night off to see them and Maggie was down from Atlanta, so the two siblings were overly curious about what she did today. 

Beth did her best to not seem anxious as she answered their questions and listened to Shawn talk about a werewolf he works with named Noah or Maggie talk about why she broke up with her recent boyfriend. She didn’t get to see her siblings much these days and shouldn’t try to rush them off. 

However - after watching _Balto_ , which was a joke on Shawn’s part, with her family - she was saying goodbye and helping put away dishes before she was rushing to her room, where she was currently going through Pearl Greene’s journals. 

Sprawled our on her bed, Beth read through her ancestors articulate penmanship and words, sometimes getting distracted by thoughts of what it would be like growing up in that time. 

When she finally came across what she was looking for, she almost didn’t realize she had, her mind wandering against her will. 

_“… I’ve still yet to learn all that I can about these amazing men, these creatures. Their lives are a web of earthly bonds I believe I will never truly understand. But what I can discover and what they will share, I will continue to detail in my newest journals Lawrence has lovingly bestowed up on his “strange little Pearl”. Bless the lord for this man I call my husband.“_

Beth read the words aloud before marking the page and going for the research journals. These journals were thicker and made with a stronger hide that Pearl would explain were hand made by Lawrence just for her. Beth traced her ancestors initials before opening the first few pages gently. 

Inside she found perfectly preserved plants, wolf claws stuck to pages, a few teeth, and even fur with little explanations over who they came from and what they meant. 

Like how one such plant she had pressed in the book was wolfsbane. How most believed wolfsbane was deadly to a werewolf. And it could be. But a single plant would simply make a werewolf queasy. It would take a hundred petals to take down a werewolf and even then it was more of a numbing poison. 

Or how silver wouldn’t kill a werewolf just by shooting it’s arm or leg. Even a human could survive that kind of shot. A werewolf would go down with a bullet to the head. That was just common sense for any creature. They did have faster healing than a normal human, though. 

Beth was entranced by it all. She’d read the journals before, but after knowing werewolves and being on the compound, every little bit of information felt immensely important to note. 

Flipping through the book, she came to a stop at a picture of the moons in each of their forms, set in a line to show their transition pattern. From new moon to a full moon. And under the image was a sketch of two wolves standing before each other under the changing moons. 

_"It was once believed that it was the moon that caused a man to change to a wolf. And in a sense, that is the case. The moon - Mother Moon as she is known to her children, the werewolves and wolves - does indeed have a hand in the change. But not in the way we as humans have gone to believe. In fact it’s a beautiful thing instead of one to be feared…”_

Beth’s voice tittered off, tracing the images her ancestor herself had drawn, her fingers touching the full moon and looking down to the two wolves standing beneath. Perhaps this was what she was looking for.

_“To humans, the moon is the signal of the earths rotation and the changing of months and seasons. To the wolves, it is a calling. When the moon is absent, the wolves go into a state of edge and lose, as if a child that has lost its mother. For the moon is a guiding light. A calling to run and dance by her light and bask in Mother Earths solidity.”_

_“But the moon is so much more.”_ Beth continued, voice a whisper. _“By listening to these beautiful beings, who have kindly offered up their ways to me and Lawrence, I have come to understand that the moon is apart of them. For the moon is a woman named Artemis’s chariot, and she rides her chariot across the earth and sky. And when her chariot is in full view of her children for three days, she sends them her blessings for life.”_

Beth lowered the book and frowned. From what she had read of Artemis, she was a maiden goddess. Blessing for life sounded like something that was more of Aphrodite or Demeter’ work… Now she wished she’d paid more attention in her Mythology class she took last spring.

“But what about the Mating Moon?” Beth murmured, skimming through the words and hoping to find something on this term she knew she’d heard before. 

Beth turned to the next page and paused when she saw an image of a large full moon with two paw prints - one obviously male and female - and her heart sped up. 

_“Perhaps the most mystifying time of the moon cycle, is the full moon, which is the time of the full completion of a months time and when Artemis’s call for new life is made… The call of the Mating Moon.”_

At the left bottom corner, Pearl had drawn an image of what she believed Artemis to look like; a young girl with a simple dress, a wreath made of moon beams, and a bow and arrow set strung over her back. A simple but pleasing image.

_“The mating moon is a werewolves most vulnerable time of the month. For three days, their instincts are pushed to breed and find the one whose scent calls to them like the sirens in Lawrence’s favorite shanties.”_

Beth smiled a little at the thought of Lawrence Greene - who was a well build Irish Sea man turned farmer and thus was built like a wall of bricks with his broad shoulders and tall frame in all the pictures she’d seen of him - singing silly or soulful shanties to his wife. 

_“I wasn’t aware of how much more there was to this Mating Moon until I was approached by a young werewolf named Woodrow Roche. He showed up on our front door covered in blood and badly injured. He’d fought with another wolf for his mate. A mate he claimed was his Mating Moon call. The male had bested him, but Woodrow kept at it, and my husband and I would patch him up until he met his death at the other males claws. For common sense was washed away with his calling need to have and be with this Sadie girl he was always telling me about… It was Woodrow’s death that told me that when a werewolf is called on by the Mating Moon, it’s a call they can not refuse and become desperate and vulnerable and sometimes irrational over it. If ones Mating Moon call is not met or the call is not accepted by the other, a werewolf can be driven to insanity or become locked in their wolf state and their connection to humanity thrust aside…”_

Beth sat the book down and nibbled on her bottom lip, letting herself process all she’d read… Which was one of the saddest things she’d heard in a long time.

“Mate… Or risk loosing yourself… So cruel.” Beth murmured, her brow creasing and lips pulled into a frown. 

If Maggie was here she’d joke about how it all sounds like death by boner and Shawn would be laughing beside her… But Beth felt it wasn’t something worth laughing over. These creatures were placed in such a tight need to bond… It was practically cruel. 

Looking out her window, Beth gazed south towards were the compound was, thinking of how serious Michonne had been when Beth had said she understood the Mating Moon… She’d been right. She didn’t really know. 

…

It was dark by the time Rick returned to his cabin. He’d left to give Daryl more privacy. And now it was late, he was covered in mud and blood from a kill, and he just wanted to be home near his kids. 

He was wary of the fact he could still smell _Her_ scent around his home, but it was very faint and by the morning should be gone.

Shifting and naked, Rick made his way into his house and went straight for his bathroom. He took a quick hot shower and brushed his teeth before pulling on boxers and a pair of flannel pajama pants given to him by Lori years ago. 

He finds Daryl sitting on the floor of the guest bathroom. The door is wide open and his back is pressed against the sink, a cigarette hanging unlit from his lips. 

The bathroom smells of bleach and other disinfectants and Rick almost smiles because he’s just imagining Daryl scrubbing down the room like some cleaning nut like Aaron and Erik, his neighbors right at the edge of the hill. 

Instead he stands in the doorway and takes his friend in. Notes he’s got just a dirty tank top and his dirty jeans and no boots. At least it seems like he actually left the house. 

But he looks rough. His eyes are dark and heavy, his body pulled taut like the strings of his favorite crossbow he’ll sometimes hunt with instead of using his teeth and claws.

It’s the fear that makes Rick’s stomach twist. Daryl would never ever admit to fearing anything. He’d often told Rick that he wasn’t afraid of nothing.

But Daryl was afraid of this. This calling that he couldn’t physically fight. This was his fear. 

“When I first met Lori, we were young. Practically kids… And I nearly took Shane’s head off. Over someone i’d never met but knew I needed.” Rick found himself saying softly, staring out the dark bathroom window. 

“One of my best friends since we were pups… None of that mattered the moment I caught her scent… It doesn’t go away, the urge. After we mated it just got stronger… I wasn’t right after she died. You know that… You were there for us. Still there for us. It’s why you’re my kids “uncle Daryl” and why you’re still here.“

Daryl looked up through his bangs, taking the unlit cigarette from his mouth. 

"This ain’t gonna go away, brother… It isn’t. Can’t fight it much longer. You know what happens… You saw what happened to old Jim… And I’m not sure I can last through it much longer either. Whatever it is this calling is for us.” Rick spoke slowly, soft but firm, needing Daryl to listen and understand what he was saying. 

“Ain’t doin it. Just a kid.” Daryl spoke up, voice thick with exhaustion. 

“She ain’t. You know she ain’t.” Rick sighed, feeling a little accomplished that Daryl was even speaking. 

Daryl’s mouth curved into a deep frown and he ducked his head down, looking at everything but Rick. 

Rick sighed and hung his head, nodding but saying nothing. He knew Daryl was listening. That was something. That was a start. 

He’d give him a little more time. Just a little.


	5. Chapter 5

Two weeks. Two weeks had passed since Beth had gotten a tour of the compound. And since then, all she could think about was Michonne’s words, Mr. Grimes’s tight scowl, and the Mating Moon. 

Her thoughts followed her into her sleep, waking her with dreams of looming figures, teeth, and a strange tingle between her legs that she was familiar with but couldn’t fathom why such a sensation was following her from her dreams. 

She hadn’t been back to the compound either. Although Michonne had assured her of not having made anyone mad, Beth still couldn’t get this gut feeling that her presence wasn’t wanted there.

She wanted to ask her daddy if he ever felt like that when he visited, but she knew he’d want to know why she was asking such a thing and Beth knew she didn’t want to have to explain such a thing - something she herself wasn’t sure of yet - to her father and she didn’t want to worry him. 

So for the two weeks since her visit, Beth buried herself in her job at Theodore’s - T-Dig to his friends - and buried herself in more hours and staying late to help reorganize and restock everything until T-Dog’s wife, Jacqui, had shooed her off for the next week unless there was an emergency. 

So now she was sitting at the old playground of the school yard and avoiding home and the urge to once again bury herself in Pearl Greene’s journals. 

She sighed and swayed on the old swing, pushing loose strands from her face, worrying her lip between her teeth. Feeling like so stupid right now. And not even sure why!

“Beth?”

Beth jerked her head around, almost squealing as someone’s hand touched her shoulder and almost sent her flying off the swing onto her face.

Blinking rapidly, Beth’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in closed in surprise. 

“Oh.” Was all she could whisper at first, taking in his longer hair and scruffier face, having to really squint to see the boy from her younger years. 

“Hey, Beth…”

Zack smiled uncertainly at her and Beth was given an image of a younger boy with a sheepish grin as he offered to carry her books for her. A look of puppy love all over his features.

And Beth closed her mouth and found herself smiling as she quickly stood up and threw her arms around him, squeezing tightly and trying not to laugh at how weird she was acting. 

Zack easily looped his arms and squeezed her close, his chuckle of amusement rumbling through her and making her smile widen. 

…

Having Zack suddenly appear was like a snap back to reality she hadn’t realized she’d needed. A nudge to let her know that she’d been drifting these last two weeks and was definitely needing to anchor again. 

Zack sat across from her as they finished giving their orders to Ron, taking in how different her old friend seemed and yet… And yet she could clearly see the Zack she’d once dated and shared Lunchables with. 

The diner was empty, save for the old Jacobson’s. Jacqui- who’d been suspicious when Beth had first walked in - eyed them both as she made her way to the back. 

“This town hasn’t really changed, huh? Kinda surprised we have a Subways now.” Zack mused, tearing open his third packet of Sweet n Low for his tea.

“It’s beautiful… Being able to stay the same, only changing when they need to… It’s beautiful. This town doesn’t let the outside make it be anything more or anything less.” 

Her voice was soft and laced with affection. Everyone and everything changed. Even her hometown wasn’t the same. Not really. 

To change was to grow. Beth believed the town was growing. But it wasn’t letting others - letting the big cities or big companies- overpower what made it different and unique. Made it who it was.

“I wish I could do that. Change but stay who I am.” Beth mused.

“You did change… You’re different. You smell different to…” Zack murmured, giving her a boyish smile she knew well. 

“Mm… Not like you… I mean, wow… You look so happy. Like you could face down the world without a thought.” Beth mused with a smile, making Zack chuckle. 

“Living out of town… I had to grow. I didn’t have my pack. My family… You. I just had me… And her.”

Zacks face pinked and Beth tilted her head slightly, hoping he’d elaborate on just who “her” was. 

“I know I left without saying much. I’m sorry for that… I didn’t know why at first. Why I was being called away… Until I found Enid.” 

The way he said her name - Enid - was with such love and loyalty that Beth had to blush at the feeling that she was invading on his private thoughts. 

“What’s she like?” Beth asked, fighting down the heat to her face. 

“Strong… Smart… Sarcastic as hell though.” At this he chuckled and Beth smiled around her straw as she took a drink. 

“I think you’d like her. We’re thinking of moving onto the compound if they’ll let us…” At this Zack frowned, curling his hands into a fist. 

“Why wouldn’t they?” Beth wondered, perplexed by Zacks shift. 

“She’s human.” Zack said softly, Beth’s eyes widening in surprise. 

“… Oh…” She whispered. 

“Yeah… Surprised me to… I know it’s happened before, but… I just didn’t think it would happen to me…” Zack laughed, easing a little tension from his shoulders. 

“Her being a human would be that much of a problem?” Beth asked, trying to think of any reason the wolves she met rejecting someone for who they loved. 

“It’s only been a hundred years of equal rights for werewolves, Beth… But some people arnt like you or your family… Some packs and humans don’t like that. Seeing our kind together, mating, having kids… I’ve even heard of families being slaughtered by humans and other packs over it. And id die… I’d die for Enid. I’d die if anything happened to her, Beth… She’s my… She’s…”

Beth watched Zack struggle to explain it to her. To tell her so she’d understand. But Beth knew. She knew what he was saying. 

“She’s your calling. Your gift of the Mating Moon, right?” Beth asked softly, causing Zack to stare at her with eyes as wide as a plate. 

“How- you know-” Zack began, but Beth cut him off.

“I know what it is… What it does to you or anyone that’s a wolf. But… I don’t understand how deep it runs. Not really.” Beth shrugged helplessly. 

Zack stared at her, his expression now impassive. Save for his eyes. Which seemed to be drilling holes in her, trying to dig inside. 

“What do you want to know?” Zack asked softly, Beth straining to catch what he was saying. 

“What- no! Zack it’s okay, I don’t need-” Beth tried, only for Zack to cut her off this time. 

“It’s okay. I have a feeling… You should know this. Call it an instinct.” 

Beth popped her mouth shut. Then opened it, only to shut it again, trying to catch her thoughts up with her muscle memory of how to speak. 

“Well…”

…

The drive back to the farm was quiet. She’d forgone turning on the radio, her grip on the steering wheel tight and her mind a race of thoughts.

Her talk with Zack had revealed what she was already aware of, but at such a deeper level that Beth felt like her head was spinning. 

She wasn’t sure how to handle all this information. What was she supposed to do with it? Why had she felt so compelled to dig into the Mating Moon so much?

“Bethy you’re going to drive yourself crazy.” Beth mused aloud, shaking her head. 

Two weeks of burying herself in her mind wasn’t healthy… Perhaps when she got home, a nice ride with Nelly would make her feel better. 

Pulling down the drive to her house, Beth resolved to shove all these thoughts aside and try to enjoy the time off she was gonna have from work.

Pulling the old ford into its parking spot, Beth slid out of the truck and shoved the heavy metal door shut… When her eyes landed on a man. 

No. Not a man. Even from here - a few steps from her porch - Beth could see this wasn’t a man. Sure he was on two legs and looked like a man… But this was definitely a werewolf. 

A grin split across his face that made him look like a grinning dog. His sharp blue eyes swept over her and he had his arms crossed. 

“Well shit! Was wonder when you’d be getting home, girlie. Been tracking ya all over town!” He laughed, voice raspy like sandpaper rubbing together. 

“Tracking me…? I don’t…” Beth tried, frowning. 

She has no idea who this man was and yet he seemed to know exactly who she was.

“Names Merle, darlin. And I think you and I need a little chat.” He drawled. 

And suddenly Beth realized that she did know who this man was. She’d seen him on the porch if Sophia’s house when she’d been on the compound. 

“You’re Sophia’s father.” Beth stated and Merle chuckled in a way that sent a shiver up her spin. 

“And you’re the piece of slip that’s stole my baby brothers heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten this story. I just have been holiday swamped! So here's an update. We are getting closer to the end and the smut I swear lol


	6. Chapter 6

_“You've heard the term soulmate, right?” Zack asked, his expression pulled into the most serious expression she'd ever seen on him._

_Beth nodded. She knew what a soulmate was. How supposedly everyone in the world had that one person - that one soul on earth - who was ideally suited for just them and them alone. How a soulmate was your best friend, your family, and your love all in one._

_“Imagine finding your soulmate. Finding that one person that the universe made just for you. That made someone who completes everything about you that felt broken or list… Think about that.” Zack continued softly, a distant look coming to his eyes._

_Beth tried to imagine such a thing. Tried to imagine finding someone made just for her. Made to complete her… Although Beth had never felt much self doubt about herself, there was something heart and gut warming about someone out there meant to make her feel like she was everything for them and they were everything for her._

_“Can you imagine it?” Zack asked, coming back with a sharp look her way._

_Beth nodded, because yes she could almost imagine what that would be like. She had to really feel for it. But she felt it like a pressure on her heart._

_“When the Mating Moon comes, it awakens us. Our senses go haywire. We're already pretty open topic senses… But now everything is open. Not just the primary senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell… But senses and feeling we hardly ever feel. Our balance with the earth. Our heart and gut feelings. And mostly our sexual appeal and appetite.”_

_Beth face reddened slightly at that but she swallowed down the urge to look away. She was a young woman. She could handle talking about sex with her former boyfriend… Hopefully._

_“The Mating Moon is believed to be a trial of Artemis and Aphrodite. The one time the two really get along… When our senses, our gifts, from Artemis are increased. Under the Mating Moon we are almost minor gods… Aphrodite is the one who gave us our Achilles heel… Love. The Mating Moon opens up our hearts and calls out for the one who can complete us… It calls for our soulmate.”_

_Zack smiled as Beth bit her lip, taking all this in. She'd understood Artemis’s hand but she had no idea the power of two goddesses were at play… She found that to be almost terrifying._

_“And what happens when you find your Mating Moon’s calling?” Beth asked softly, wondering just how much of Pearl Greene’s journal was right._

_“It's not something many talk about… But for me and what others that are willing to talk have said, it's… It’s like everything around you doesn't matter anymore. Just them. Just getting to them. Being with them… And the sexual drive is a part of it, sure. But… It's more than that. You want to be everything for them. You would die for them without a second thought… And if they died, that's it for you…”_

_Beth tried to process that. Loss was hard. She could remember feeling devastated and broken when her great aunt died last summer… But the idea of being so tied to a person that if they died, that's it for you and ever being happy again… It was frightening._

_“What happens to someone if their Mating Moon calling doesn't accept them… What would have happened to you?” Beth asked softly._

_“I would've gone ferall.” Zack spoke just as softly, practically shivering at the thought._

_“You mean wild, right? You'd loose yourself… Become trapped as a wolf?” Beth asked and Zack gave a stiff nod._

_Silence fell over the two as Beth took a deep breath, suddenly feeling like there was a pressure on her chest as her gut twisted harshly._

_“How long can someone last against the calling?”_

_Zack gave her a look before shaking his head, looking down at his finished drink with an almost blank expression._

_“Until the next Mating Moon. If the call isn't complete by the last of the three days, it's practically over for them.”_

**…**

Beth was pretty certain she looked like a fish right now. Her mouth opened and shut, eyes wide and certain that her cheeks were a very vibrant red. She couldn't make a sound as the man before her was looking at her like he was trying to peel every layer of her being away and study it.

“I don't… What?” Beth manages to get out, her voice almost a croak at how suddenly- oddly - dry her throat has become.

“Well girlie ya ain't bad on the eyes but I take it that means ya ain't got much brain, huh?” Merle Dixon drawled, snorting at her behavior in a very condescending way.

Beth snapped to at the tone, her mouth falling into a pursed lip frown and brown furrowed in indignation at being called stupid!

“You can't call me stupid if I have no clue what you're saying… You're making no sense! Stole your brothers heart? I don't… What are you saying?” Beth snapped, glaring at the smirk spreading across the older man's smug face.

“Oh come on, blondie. Don't act like you don't known what you were doin’.” Merle scoffed, arms crossed and looking down his nose at her.

“I'm not acting anything, Mr. Dixon, and I don't appreciate you coming into my daddy's farm and talking to me like I'm some kind of idiot!” Beth exclaimed, voice raising as she began to feel hotter under the collar.

Merle paused and looked her over and Beth let out a very irritated huff, nostrils flaring. This man had such a slug attitude about him. She didn't consider herself so easy to rattle, but this man was looking at her and talking to her in just the right way to twist her buttons and she did not like it. Plus, after her talk with Zack, she wasn't feeling so level headed with herself.

Beth jerked as Merle began to laugh, making her face go even redder. What on earth was so funny?!

“Ya ain't lying, are ya? Wooo Darylina has gone and done it now. Always thought he didn't have it in him, but looks like he's just got that Dixon instinct for trouble!” Merle howled, shaking his head.

Beth felt her blood boiling as she stood on the porch of her childhood home, confusion and anger mixing like a stew inside her. A strange, wild feeling bubbling inside her. Like the instant snap of a weak twig, Beth felt rage she's never ever felt before lash out of somewhere inside her.

And everything blacked out.

**…**

Rick felt heavy. His whole body felt like it was being weighed down by invisible weights as he sat on the porch, staring over the compound as the sun began to set.

His skin itched. With every new day the calling became louder and louder, making it impossible for him to focus. So much so that Michonne and Abraham had taken to running things in his place, both casting him concerned looks with each job he handed them in his place.

He'd sent Carl and Judith to stay with Carol and Merle, not needing them to see him and Daryl falling apart like this.

At the thought of Daryl, Rick’s ears perked up at the sound of claws on wood, scrapping at the door of the guest bedroom Daryl had locked himself in, hardly even coming out to eat.

His friend was in a worse state than he himself was, Rick was sure. Daryl had never felt the call. And while Rick had never felt it like this, he knew still what he was facing… And what could happen in the next fifteen days if something wasn't done.

_“The girl may be young, but she's old enough to listen and make a choice.”_

Michonne's last discussion with him felt like an extra weight to his already heavy mind. Rick sighed and shook his head, running his hand down his face, the back of his head pressed against the wood of his home as he stares at the setting sun.

_Arrrrrrrooooooo!_

Ricks head snapped forward and his skin felt like it was heating up, a call reaching inside and tugging at his gut in a way he's never felt before!

Rick crawled to his feet, the call getting louder and closer. He tried to focus on on which way it was coming, barely noticing that Daryl had broken out of his room until he shot out the door with a needy, wild snarl.

Without thought, Rick shifted and began to follow him, clawing and jumping the compounds wooden fence and making a break through the woods after his friend.

**…**

As the call dragged Rick and Daryl farther from the compound, a lone figure stood easily at the almost tip top of a red cider tree.

She was a tall and well built like an athlete. Her hair was as black as a starless night sky, a flawless olive skin tone, and eyes the brightest and sharpest silver known to human and wolf kind.

Her attire consisted of a simple silver and white tunic with black leggings, silver anklets on her left leg and matching bracelets on her right arm, hair held back by a crown of different shades of silver leaves and branches.

She watched from the top of the tree as Rick and Daryl followed the call; her call. The fates were at play and while she could not change their design, she could make her own touches.

“Artemis. I hope you're not trying to interfere with things again!” A voice huffed from the sky, making Artemis roll her eyes in a childlike manner.

“Of course not, Aphrodite. I wouldn't dream of it.”

**…**

**R & R Plz :)**


	7. Chapter 7

There's a sound like thunder in his ears. It matches each stride of his paws as they pound against the earth, carrying him to the call that has his blood boiling and his stomach rolling.

He knows the thunderous sound is the pulsing of his heart and the undeniable roar of the beast telling him to move, move, move!

Daryl has never felt this way. There's fear and rage that blinds him to everything but three facts.

That the call is about _Her_. That he feels like he's dying and being reborn as he draws closer to her land and smells her scent. And that Rick is beside him.

His _Alpha_ is beside him, running in even, heady strides that pound the earth to their own beat that goes with his. As if they're equals.

_“We are equals, Daryl. You're my brother, arnt ya?”_

Daryl glances beside him and almost loses his stride. Because now - after two weeks of locking himself away and having not seen Rick face to face since She came on their land - he can see that Rick is right.

There is no longer a powerful but subdued urge to bow and follow Rick to the end of the earth… Now Daryl only sees what he's never seen before.

He sees his equal.

Daryl has become his _own_ alpha.

**…**

Rick feels the moment Daryl realizes what he's always known and the part of him that isn't howling with the need to get to the call, is wanting to grab him and shake him while telling him _it's about damn time_.

But now is not the time for that, as they finally cut through the underbrush surrounding the farmhouse and tear across the expansion of land to the steps.

It's the sight of Merle crouching before Beth - his Mating Moon calling - that has him quickly grabbing Daryl by the scruff of his neck, shoving him to the ground right as they're a foot from the steps and Daryl is making a wild, protective and blind charge towards his brother, his beast calling for blood at another male near what his instincts claim is _his his his_.

Rick can feel the urge to rip flesh as well, but he's reigning it in with every ounce of control he has - an alpha trait Daryl has yet to lock into, this still being his first calling - as he holds Daryl down, waiting for a struggle like any possessed Mating Call wolf would give.

Instead Daryl seems to reign himself in and almost whines in irritation until Rick lets him go, removing his teeth from the scruff of his neck and getting off him as Merle backs up and holds up his hands. Knowing when to steer clear.

Daryl's fur is raised in anger as he snarls viciously towards Merle, stalking up the stairs and placing Beth's unconscious form between them, claws out and teeth bared.

The interesting thing is noting that Merle almost seems to curl into himself as Daryl snarls and snaps his jaw. Merle Dixon - Beta - is being cowed by Daryl's new alpha aura and voice.

_“Daryl…”_

Rick says it gently, carefully. Daryl could break Merle if he wasn't careful. The alpha voice is hard to fight at its peak and Merle's a strong Beta - damn near invincible really and it's still surprising he hasn't gotten the alpha call - but even he would eventually crack under Daryl's new position.

Merle seems to note the change - hard not to, really - and looks rueful as he shifts to his wolf form and lowers himself to the ground in a sign of submit, a dark and confused glare in place as Daryl reigns himself in and sniffs towards Beth.

_“Wouldn't try to touch her, Darylina.”_ Merle speaks up, making both of them jerk to look at him again, as he rises to his feet until he's shifted and standing in his half form - caught between man and wolf - with a scowl in place.

Without warning, Merle reaches out to touch Beth. Before Rick can reign himself and Daryl in at the invasion of their marked mates space, Rick jolts back as Merle's hand is scorched!

Daryl snaps his jaw, shifting back and forth on his paws - stuck between concern for Merle and anger at Merle being too close to Beth - as Rick gives a low growl, hackles rising in place.

Merle's hand - healing slowly - is burnt from the tips of his fingers to his wrist, looking as if his hand as been dunked into fire and burnt it to a crisp. If not for his quick healing, Rick was certain he'd be on the ground howling in pain.

But what stuck out was the _smell_. He did not just smell burning flesh or fire. Instead he smelled Beth - her sweet and tempting smell - mixed with a very sweet and unearthly smell that made his fur stand even more up, Daryl's as well as he also caught the scent.

Beth smelled of the Gods. Something he hadn't smelled since he was a pup and watched his father and mother howl to the moon infront of an old prayer stone to the Gods.

Which meant a godly figure was nearby. Which meant something big was going on. Something Rick was certain wasn't good at all.

**…**

She had no idea where she was or what time of day it was. All she knew was that something strange had happened to her body. That an anger and confusion she's never known was swept over her. And that she recalled Merle and then…

Nothing.

Her back was pressed into the ground. Her hand twitched and she realized the surface felt smooth. Too smooth to be her porch, the last place she remembered standing.

And above her wasn't the top of the porch either. Instead it was ink black sky with tiny, twinkling stars… And the planet Mars, clear as day, floating in the distance.

Beth stared, not really sure if this was truly what she was seeing. The past two weeks had been strange to her… Was she finally snapping?

Beth had lost herself before. Back when she thought her mother was dying in the hospital. She'd taken a mirror shard to her wrist because she'd been lost and it had seemed so right at the time…

But this didn't feel like that time at all. In fact she felt whole, while as last time she'd felt hollow and lacking existence.

Blinking, Beth reached her right hand up to touch her face, when she jerked to a sitting position!

Her bracelets were gone!

Beth looked around before freezing, casting a glance down at herself and feeling Shane and heat rise to her cheeks as she crossed her arms over herself.

She was practically naked, standing in what she would best call a nightgown made of silky see through material, her undergarments missing and her hair was down, save for a single braid on her left side!

Before she could feel truly alarmed at her state of undress, Beth felt as if someone was near.

Jerking her head around, Beth looked behind her… And felt her breath catch in her throat at the most amazing thing she'd seen yet…

A wolf. A wolf as large - or larger - as a tractor and as white as the moon,eyes as blue as a glaciers… Was standing a mere four feet from her, looking down at Beth.

_“Beth Greene… Welcome.”_

A voice like a wild full moon night caressed her mind, making her body feel alive and her state of undress feeling appropriate.

_“Do not fear your emotions, your callings.”_ The voice laughed, Beth snapping her jaw shut as she realized it had dropped open and she was shaking like a leaf.

“Who…” Beth tried, words dying on her tongue.

The wolf - as if it were human - seemed to smile at her and lowered herself to Beth's eye level with a gentle tap of her paw.

_“Humans and my children have given me many names. But you may call me Lupa.”_

Lupa… Beth knew that name. She'd read that name in one of Pearl Greene’s entries in her journal…

Lupa, the Roman _Goddess of Wolves_.

Beth was standing before a goddess… Just what had happened to her?!

**…**

**R & R Plz!**


	8. Chapter 8

Beth had no idea where she was going. She had no idea where she even was. And she had no idea how she even got wherever she was.

After Lupa introduced herself, she gently motioned for Beth to follow her. So Beth followed the large wolf, trying to take in her surroundings.

The floor seemed to definitely be made if some kind of polished and smoothed white diamond. And the sky seemed to be the solar system, Beth catching an image of Venus and Saturn in the far distance with Mars being the closest.

The further they walked, Beth began to notice columns and statues. The columns lined their walkway and on the other side of them, Beth saw herself reflected in water that was so blue it was almost as black as the sky.

The statues were sparse, appearing after every thirty-third column (Beth had counted) and were statues she had seen. The Athena Parthenos. The Lady of Auxerre. Diana of Versailles. Famous sculptures and statues she'd only seen in pictures.

Beth had to keep herself from stopping and admiring the works of art, stumbling after Lupa instead and continue to wonder just where this divine goddess was taking her.

**…**

They walked a fairly far distance before coming to an archway. Standing on either side of the archway were guards… That were teenagers?

Beth tried not to stare. Both girls were athletically built and wearing white and silver camouflage jeans, heavy work boots, gloves, silver war helmets, and sporting a sword in their hips and longbows on their backs.

At the sight of Lupa, the guards kneeled and lowered their gazes. Lupa gave them glances before walking on, Beth - remembering her nudity - gives each girl a shy wave and catches one of their eyes before she lost sight as she stepped through the column.

“You're late, Lupa.”

Beth almost runs into Lupa’s tail as she comes to a halt, blinking as she's assaulted with white fur and the feeling she's being watched.

_“We decided to take the scenic route. Forgive us, Lady Brigid.”_ Lupa chuckles, stepping aside to nudge Beth forward with her nose and bring her to stand before this new voice.

The woman before her is beautiful. Her hair was a perfect strawberry blonde mixture with eyes a sunshine gold. Her dress was a simple hand maiden style that was daisy yellow and she wore a silver hoop crown with braids holding it in place.

Unlike Lupa - who almost towered over Beth - this woman was simply a head taller than Beth and didn't have her voice pressing against the inside of her head like an invading worm of some sort.

“You always did like showing off the palace.” The woman - Brigid? - mused dryly as Beth was motioned to follow them both.

“It's been over five hundred years since we've had a guest whose never seen the work of my ladies. Surely you can't tease me for wanting to let her see.” Lupa states simply, while shrinking down to the size of a miniature show pony instead of a large tractor.

Brigid simply hums with a nod as she looks at Beth, making her stomach clench with worry over suddenly being addressed again. Whoever this woman was, Beth was certain she was likely someone to not want to upset.

“So young.” Brigid muses, Lupa nodding in agreement and Beth feeling even more confused again.

Nothing else is said to elaborate and Beth bites her lower lip to keep from blurting out any of the questions she had.

Daddy always told her that patience leads to answers… She'd have to respect that for now.

**…**

The room she's lead to is a giant bathing room.

There's steam and rainbow like bubbles and water clear and inviting inside the largest bathtub she's ever seen; a tub that's as large as a backyard swimming pool. With a statue fountain of a woman pouring running water into the tub from a large vase.

“There she is. I was beginning to think you two lost her!”

Beth is certain her jaw has dropped and her face has gone red. She feels a burning liquid pool into her lower stomach and her pulse flutter, taking a sharp breath.

Beth didn't need to ask to know who this woman was. She couldn't even begin to describe her appearance - it seemed to change to take on characteristics of things Beth herself found beautiful - and she couldn't even fight the obvious reaction this woman's presence was causing.

“Beth Greene. I am Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. Welcome to the Bath of Replenishment. And do feel free to embrace that growing fire in you. It's simply stunning for your complexion.” The Goddess smiled, dragging Beth into the waters.

Once again noting Beth of her barely clad state… And that the woman before her was also very much naked as well.

The see through gown flows and disappears into the water as Beth is dragged down into it by the goddesses soft, but firm grip around her scarred wrist. She's unable to protest as the water reaches her waist and sends a spark of what is definitely lust, searing to her core and making a gasp rip from her and falter her steps.

Aphrodite does not tug her further. She steps back and studies Beth, a beaming smile as she claps her hands together. And Beth can only stand with her lips parted and body trembling with waves of feelings and emotions.

“Aphrodite you'll break the girl. She has yet to know-” Brigid speaks up, her voice drifting away as Beth can only hear the thrumming of her heated blood thumping in her ear as it spread through her body like a wildfire claiming a dried grassland.

Aphrodite said something - her beautiful tone tickling at her ear - but her voice was drowned and Beth covered her ears as a new sound replaced the thrumming in her ears.

Like a war cry near her ears, Beth could only hear the sound of two. Two distressed and searching creatures that Beth had grown up seeing and growing near for years.

Her head jerked to look at Lupa, who was watching her intently. Howling. The sounds were the howls of wolves. They were scared. In pain. They were-

Beth's eyes rolled back and she gasped, dropping down into the water and being dragged by invisible, soothing hands into the inviting depth as her world blurred and the howls grew louder and louder.

**…**

Daryl paced. It's all he could do. It was the only thing keeping him from going after Merle… That and the sleeping form of Beth Greene currently curled up on the couch and breathing heavily, sweating and moaning in a mixture of what sounded like pain… And lust.

Daryl's nose could smell Beth's heat. She was wrenching and jerking on the bed and covered in a needy scent that was driving the beast in him insane while also stabbing him in the gut as the lustful loans were mixed with fear and pain.

Rick was standing half dressed, having a conversation with Hershel on the phone. Lying to him about his daughter. Lying about her whereabouts and her condition.

Neither of them could leave her. Daryl couldn't do it. He'd have ripped Rick and Merle apart if they even tried to take her away and send him off. Not after spending two weeks away… He couldn't do it.

“Daryl.”

Rick's voice causes him to jerk and growl roughly. But his hackles calm as Rick looks at him with a look that sums up how Daryl is feeling.

Helpless.

Not another word is spoken as Rick rubs his fingers through his hair and looks at Beth, pain evident with every sharp breath she takes or every pained expression she makes.

And Daryl takes sick comfort in that. In knowing he's not the only one suffering right now. In knowing that this helplessness is overwhelming the seemingly unphased Alpha, Rick Grimes.

He's a fucking dick.

“D-Dar-yl… Rrr-ick…”

A strangled whine is pulled from him and he shifts back and forth before laying his head at Beth’s feet.

Rick claws at the back of the couch, a frustrated growl lodged in his throat and rumbling through him and the couch as he stares down at Beth.

She's calling out for them and there's nothing they can do to help her… Fuck he could kill Merle for this! He had no fucking right to go and tell her things he had no right telling!

_“If I hadn't said shit, you and Alpha Friendly would've just let your asses go native and then you'd be lost forever, ya ungrateful shits!”_

And damn Merle for being right and damn Merle for realizing what him and Rick had been trying to keep secret and dammit Merle!

Daryl buries his nose against Beth's side and enjoys her natural scent clogging his senses. But he does hackle at the foreign smell of deities.

He can't stand the Gods. They ain't done shit for him or Merle and now all they're doin is fucking with what's his… Fuck them.

“She's gonna be okay… All we can do is wait.”

Rick's voice is strained and hoarse as he runs his hand down his face and tugs at the hair on the back of his head, straining against his nature just like Daryl is.

He knows Rick’s right. He logically knows this… But logic ain't got shit with the Mating Call and he can only huff and listen to Beth's heavy breathing.

Whatever the Gods are up to… It better be worth it.

**…**

**R & R Plz**


End file.
